Rebuilding: is one credit card enough?

[robbndawn03]

Hello we were discharged this past January of chapter 7 .. I have not wanted to get many credit cards since these are what I could not manage properly.. So I have one orchard bank low limit.. paying minimum, using wisely.. this is the only good established credit I have besides my mortgage that I am needing to refinance very soon here to get a lower interest rate I am on a 2 year arm which expires in November Homecoings @7.5 % could go up to 13.5% highest .. but hopefully it will NOT .. it changes every six months there after...
So I guess my question is: am I re-establishing enough with just one credit card and no lates on mortgage? I really despise credit cards just because I am vulnable .. when they are there and I do not want to put myself in that position.. By the way... JOB is not stable,only a couple of weeks .. so if I refinance it would have to be No doc... what are my chances? Hopefully by then I will have a job....
Thanks Dawn

[tinroofrusted]

I would have at LEAST two, along with your mortgage... or a car loan or something similar.... Especially if you have one, that only has a limit of a couple hundred dollars....

[robbndawn03]

Thanks I took your advice and applied for hooters... Not my favorite place but hey it is credit and a mastercard at that.. thanks for all you help and advice...

[edwards2]

robbn -please post if you get approved for the Hooters card. I applied too last week. Havent heard anything yet. A lot of people who apply online call them to see if they get approved. Wont be the end of the world if I dont because I already have a few cards, Juniper and Cap One and Orchard and Target. I like you am going to keep our credit lines low. I pay them off at the end of the month too. By the way Target and Cap One have already increase my credit limit; $500 and $1500 respectively. I dont want to ever be in a position I cant pay it at the end of the month. Our BK was not due to credit cards but I can see how having too many cards with high balances can lead to BK. The cc companies are hammering people who miss a payment or are just paying minimums.

[robbndawn03]

I will be checking on it this week if approved.. I don't feel right applying to Capital one or Target since they were in my BK 7 ... They most likely will deny so I don't want to take the chance .. But will keep you posted on approval..

[SinkingFast]

I remember reading at Sallie Mae or Freddie Mac or one of the Gov't mortgage lenders, that they look for a minimum of 3 positive reporting tradelines. Not all CC's either.

They like to see a mortgage lender reporting. If you don't have a mortgage lender, and your Landlord doesn't report, they will take a letter of reference from the landlord in lieu of that report on your Credit History.

Another type of secured loan. Auto loan or similar.

And at least one unsecured LOC. A CC would do there.

So it's not just how many positive tradelines you have reporting, it's a variety of types of tradelines as well. The theory being a balanced view of your credit shows a balanced person able to properly manage their finances. Basically a judgement call on the part of potential Creditors down the road.

[FloridaGirl]

I remember reading at Sallie Mae or Freddie Mac or one of the Gov't mortgage lenders, that they look for a minimum of 3 positive reporting tradelines. Not all CC's either.

You are correct. Three positive tradelines is what they look for. Some think having many accounts looks good, but it is actually somewhat negative. Coming out of BK, creditors want to see that you have learned from your past. If one has too many accounts opened, which aren't very old, it seems like they are headed down the same road which led them to BK in the first place. Three is a good number.

[debtisbad]

What about department store credit cards. Are they hard to attain after bk and do they help build credit? I am not a shopaholic or cc abuser so not a problem for me. Just wondered how hard they would be to get.

[SinkingFast]

The Dept store card I have reports to the CRA's. Depends on how big the store is. If it's a chain, they probably report. Which could be good for you. But if they report, then they also pull your Credit, which may result in a denial of credit. Just a risk you have to take if you wanna try to get a positive reporting tradeline.

First thing you should do, tho, is take a look at all 3 Credit Reports. See if there's anything you need to clean up there first before you try applying for Credit post BK.

[Roadrunner]

Do you have a lender in mind already? As far as I know, most require minimum of 3-5 credit lines.

I have read my score 'recommendations' that indicate having a higher limit card reporting would be beneficial for the score. (My $2000 limit card is not yet reporting.)